STIR(Short Term Innovative Research): Toward the Exploration of the Quantum Vacuum Optics of Metamaterials with the SQCRAMscope
Abstract
The project aimed to use our novel quantum sensor, the SQCRAMscope (Scanning Quantum Cryogenic Atom Microscope), to advance a new field: 'engineered quantum vacuum optics.' The microscope is the first example of the direct marriage of ultracold atomic and optical physics with condensed matter for the imaging of the quantum vacuum. The Casimir effect is an inherently quantum optical manifestation of how the local electromagnetic vacuum environment is modified near materials. We are well-posed to enter into this new realm of optics research, in which Casimir forces can be manipulated through boundary condition engineering and modified by the effect of many-body correlations on optical properties. Manipulating and engineering the quantum vacuum can create novel optical devices for, e.g., eliminating the 'stiction' from MEMS/NEMS technology that causes such devices to fail. We will explore the quantum optics of engineered Casimir-Polder potentials arising from microfabricated surfaces. The project addresses the technical challenges underpinning the imaging of Casimir potentials. Determining whether the SQCRAMscope is capable of imaging potentials of a magnitude we expect for Casimir physics. With the SQCRAMscope's high sensitivity, we were able to observe what might be the lateral CP potential directly through the change in atom density across a surface step. We accomplished this by trapping the quasi-1D BEC within 1 um of a 10-um periodic structure etched into a thick gold film. We succeeded in fabricating a sample with a wide variety of features, including periodic and random arrays of holes. The difference in the height of these non-translationally invariant conductors should cause the CP potential to spatially oscillate in magnitude, with a lateral component included. The BEC, if its chemical potential is sufficiently low, should exhibit a modulation in in response to this spatially oscillating force. That modulation should be relatively even across the cloud.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 19, 2023
- Accession Number
- AD1212738
Entities
People
- Benjamin Lev
Organizations
- Stanford University